Clay-working.



1.*1. -F.B,'RAND.

CLAY WORKING.

APPLICATION man JAN. x1. 191s.

1,296,472. Patented Mar. 4,1919.

J. l. F. BRAND.

C LAY WOR K I NG.

' APPLlcATloN man 1AN.11.1918.

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

uw H n" mm mm mm mm WWWN m JOHN F. BRAND, 0F ROSEVILLE, OHIO.A

criar-WORKING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

yPatented.Man 4,` 19x19.

Application led January 17, 1918. Serial No. 212,320.

To all whom z't'mayconcern:

Be it known that IJ0HN J. F. BRAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roseville, in the county of Muskingum and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clay-Working; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the art of working or treating clay, etc., and more particularly to a method or process for pugging and tempering clay, shale and other earths or materials and substances in vacuum,A for putting it in condition for use in various manufactures, such for instance in the manufacture of blocks, bricks or other molded 'articles prepared from a mass which should 'be in plastic condi-tion of a thoroughly homogeneous nature, and as practically airless as it may be obtained.

The dry airless clay being in the best possible condition for the absorption of the fluid, the resultant plastic mass is appreciably denser on account of the absence of all air. A condition tending to greater uniformity in che kiln product after burning, and in the case of paving brick and similar articles a product that stands severe-r tests of wear.

Other reasons for the advantages of an airless mass to be introduced into the molds might well be given, but the above distinctions and benefits are probably sufficient for the purpose of showing the essential difference in the processes heretofore proposed and the process herein disclosed.

'With the above and other objects in view as will be rendered manifest to those skilled in the art, my invention therefore consists in certain steps and combinations of steps forming a method for the treatment of clay and other plastic materials to secure'the desired end, and which metlhod is generally and particularly described in the following specification.

It will'be noted that the process described herein, and the results obtained by it are largely independent of any particular form o-f mechanism, as 'many equivalentsl and substitutes, in well known mechanical devices might be successfully used for the purpose, or in portions of the process. But to accomplish the result and advantageously perform the necessary process to reach it, the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings is proposed.

Figure l is a sectional view of an appartus by which the process may be practlse Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of the apparatus in which dhe clay is discharged int'o a molding mechanism.

In the drawing, there is represented one form of apparatus permitting the practice of my improved method for treating clay.

The apparatus comprises a unit composed of a hopper or receptacle A, into which the dry clay or other material to be used is dumped and from whicli by a plunger or piston operated by any suitable power,. the material so deposited is forced into the first vacuum chamber C. Against the plunger B, in= its operation of forcing the clay into the chamber C, is opposed a rotating rubber or shredder D, set eccentrically at the end of a suitable shaft 2 and held to its position, against the action of the plunger B by a spring Under the thrust of the plunger B, forcmg the clay into the chamber C, the shredder D recedes suliciently to allow` the material to enter, but rotating eccentrically, rubs the material into as ne a condition as its nature will permit. The face of the shredder D may -be smooth, or corrugated in any manner to act to the best advantage on whatever material is being treated. The tension of the spring F must be so adjusted that in connection with the thrust of the plunger B, it will maintain an airtight seal by means of the clay, etc., that is being forced into the chamber C. At any convenient point in this chamber C, an air pump is attached, shown as at M. At the lower end, (or if set horizontally at the other end) of the cham-V ber C is a substantially duplicate mechanism forming another unit, composed of a plunger G, vacuum chamber H, closed by an eccentrically rotating rubber I, lprovided with a spring upon its shaft, as is D above. The lower (or if horizontally placed, the other) end kopens into a larger vacuum` chamber J, in which is installed any suitable pugging device P, and into which at any convenient point provision is made as at K for theentrance of tempering iuid. This 'chamber J is also provided with a suitable air pump or ot-her mechanism-to obtain a vacuum as at N.

Should circumstances of position require a horizontal location of the two units ofthe apparatus,'then, for the transmission of the clay from the first chamber C to chamber or entrance H to the pugging chamber J, proper transmission devices must be installed in the chambers C, and H as by screw or belt to move the clay to its next position, inthe process, and to finally bring it to the pugging device.

It may be that in practice it will be found that the double unit, shown in the mechanism, may not be necessary for `all material,l and that the tempering and pugging for some purposes might be accomplished in the first vacuumchamber. But the tendency that water, and other tempering fluids would have to vaporize under the influence of the vacuum pump, and take the place of the air extracted, and by such vaporization be to some extent itself extracted, as well as interfering with the full extraction of the air in the material from becoming wetted and plastic before the extraction was completed, makes it seem prudent to provide the two chambers. Of course both may be operated bythe same power.

It will be understood of course, that the pugging and tempering of the plastic material is accomplished in the chamber J by the'rotation of .the paddles P which have the tendency to force the plastic material toward the discharge end of the chamber which is vprovided with an outlet O from which the material may be directed into any suitable apparatus for molding or pressing the clay, etc., or simply may be discharged into a vat to be disposed of as desired. The material in the pugging chamber J collects at the outlet end thereof and forms a seal over theA discharge opening, this seal serving the purpose of maintaining the vacuum within the chamber J, and in all ordinary processes where the clay is tempered in ordinary atmospheric pressure or in conditions where the air is notremoved as herein contemplated, the inherent action of the blade of the auger or tempering device P, ordinarily augments the tendency of the material to laminate owing to the passage of the blade of the screw or pugging device through the plastic material. It will be seen therefore, that by my present process, wherein the pugging is done in vacuum, the laminating effect of the paddles is greatly overcome if notentirely eliminated owing to the material reduction in the air contents resultant of the movement of the blade in producing crevices or interstices throughout the mass.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a form of apparatus in which the clay pugged n cam/0, is passed from chamber J into a chamber Q having an ordinary auger R which expresses the clay, which has been pugged in vacuo, to the mold S.

The combination of a molding machine and a pugging mill is old and Well known but the novelty in this process resides in pugging n vacuo and if desired discharging the de-aired clay into a mold mechanism yand there expressing it.

What is claimed as new is 1. The method of treating clay or the like which consists of pugging in substantial vacuum.

2. The method of treating clay or the like, which consists of tempering it in vacuum.

3. The method of treating clay or similar substances, which consists of tempering and pugging it in a substantial vacuum.

4. The method of continuously treating clay or similar substances, which consists of progressively feeding the material through a closed chamber, exhausting the air from the chamber during such operation and pugging the material.

5. The method of continuously treating clay or similar substances, which consists of progressively feeding the material through a closed chamber, exhausting the air from the chamber during such operation and pugging and tempering the material in said chamber while the air is exhausted.

6. The `treatment, of clay or the like, which consists in disintegrating and tempering it 1n vacuum.

7. The treatment of clay or the. like, which consists in disintegrating, pugging and tempering 1t 1n vacuum.

8, The treatment of clay or the like, con/l sisting of introducing it into a chamber, disintegrating it therein, exhausting air from the clay while disintegration proceeds, transferring it to another chamber, tempering it therein, and exhausting air from the clay while tempering proceeds.

9. The treatment of clay or the like, con sisting of introducing it into a chamber, disintegrating it therein, exhausting air from the clay while disintegration proceeds, transferring it to another chamber, pugging it therein, and exhausting air from the clay while pugging proceeds.

10. That treatment of clay or the like which consists of disintegrating clay, exhausting air therefrom while it is being disintegrated, then tempering the clay and exhausting air therefrom while it is being tempered. i C

11. That treatment of clay or the like which consists of disintegrating clay, exhausting air therefrom while it is being disintegrated, then pugging the clay and exhaustingv air therefrom while. it is being pugged.

12. That treatment of clay or the like which consists of disintegrating clay, ex-

hausting air therefrom while it is being disintegrated, then tempering and pugging the clay and exhausting air therefrom while it is ein tempered and pugged.

13. he method of Working clay or the like, which consists of disintegrating dry clay in` vacuum, and then tempering it in vacuum.

14. The method of working clay which consists in tempering it in a vacuum chamber and discharging it therefrom while air is exhausted from the clay.

15. Clay working apparatus comprising a means for finely subdviding the clay, a chamber in which it is mounted, and means for exhausting air from the cham-ber and clay during operation'o'f the said means.

16. Clay Working apparatus comprising means for finely disintegrating the clay, pugging means, a chamber in which i-t is mounted, and means for exhausting air from the chamber and clay during opera-tionof the pu ging means.

17 ontmuous discharging clay working i, e

apparatus comprisin a pugging and dischargingmeans, a eiamber 1n which it is mounted," having an inlet and a discharge for clay, yand means for exhausting air from the chamber and clay during operation of the pu ging means.

18. lay working apparatus comprising continuously operative feed means, .continuously operative dischar e, pugging and tempering means, a cham er in which the same are mounted, and means for exhaustling air from the chamber and clay during operationA of the pugging and tempering means.

19. The method of treating plastic material which consists of pugging and tempering in substantial vacuum and expressing the ltempered clay into molding means.

20. The method of treating plastic material which consists of gagging and tempering clay in vacuum an expressing the clay.

In testimony whereof I affix my slgnatur-e.

JOHN J. r. BRAND. 

